She'd pulled the sheet up to her chest in the few minutes he'd been gone, in an attempt at modesty, which he found extremely amusing after everything they'd done and how brazen she'd been. But he could still see the outline of her breasts and nipples and the enticing swell of her hip against the thin covering. Her skin was flushed with warmth and ravishment, and her blond hair was tousled around her head and against her pillow in a soft cloud of silk.
She looked beautiful, besotted, and blissfully sated. Like a woman well and thoroughly fucked.
His cock twitched and tightened in renewed heat and awareness. He wanted her again, which was unbelievable since, just minutes ago, he'd felt wrung dry. Then again, just remembering how hungry and insatiable she'd been-so needy-was enough to energize any red-blooded guy for another go-around with someone so sexy and uninhibited. Fortunately, she was all his, as was all that wild, tempestuous passion of hers. She'd showed him tonight that he could do anything he wanted to her, that she was eager and willing to explore dark desires and forbidden fantasies.
Which was a good thing, since he had plenty in mind.
Not bothering to cover up his own nudity, he stretched out on his side, propped his head in his hand, and asked the one question that had him very curious: "How long has it been for you?"
She groaned and winced, and glanced up at the ceiling in an attempt to hide her embarrassment. "God, was I that obvious?"
He chuckled, finding her chagrin too endearing in the aftermath of such wild, hot sex. "Maybe just a little," he teased, and gently touched a finger to her chin to make her look at him again. "You were very enthusiastic-not that I'm complaining, since I reaped the benefits of all that pent-up desire."
She grinned wryly. "Sexual frustration will do that to a person."
"Trust me; I know. I've been feeling that same way myself since I first laid eyes on you," he said meaningfully-a month in which he'd lusted after her, and no other woman would do. Despite all those restless, erotic dreams that had left him hot and bothered and moody at times, Liz had been well worth the wait. "Now, fess up."
Her fingers absently bunched and pleated the sheet between her breasts. "You really don't want to know," she murmured.
"Sweetheart, if I didn't want to know, I wouldn't ask." He meant that sincerely. "So what are we talking here? One year? Two years?" he guessed.
"Almost three years," she admitted with a slight grimace. "Since my husband died."
That revelation raised his brows. "Wow," he said, stunned that she'd denied herself that long. Stunned that no other man had persuaded her into bed sooner.
Picking up her left hand, he ran his thumb over the gold band she wore. A treasure that had once belonged to her mother. "Then I guess this ring did its job."
She laughed, her eyes sparkling with agreement. "Until now, anyway." Then she shrugged and grew a bit more serious. "I suppose it was just a matter of waiting for the right guy to come along to sway me into an affair-that, along with the right set of circumstances."
And their circumstances had been ideal. "All I can say is, lucky me." He rubbed her soft, cool fingers along the light beard growth on his cheek and watched her nipples blossom and bead against the sheet. "But three years is a hell of a long time to be off the market. I understand grieving after your husband died, but why would you want men to think you're taken for so many years?"
He expected her to tell him that her husband had been her one true love, that she hadn't been able to bring herself to date after his death, because she'd been too devastated and it had taken her time to get past her feelings for him. It was the most logical explanation.
"Dating and men just haven't been a priority for me, not when I have The Daily Grind, which has demanded a whole lot of my time over the past three years." She gently pulled her hand out of his grasp, and though he felt her physically withdrawing from him and the conversation, he let her go.
Her answer surprised him. Her reply was convenient, too pat and evasive for a woman who'd gone to such lengths to give the impression that she was taken. He instinctively knew there was more to her reasons for remaining single. He'd heard the feigned nonchalance in her tone, which contradicted the sudden defensive tilt to her chin that told him he was traversing on deeply personal issues.
And because he was a man who liked puzzles and unraveling mysteries, he persisted. "Women run businesses of their own and date all the time. Some are even married with families."
"I'm sure those women weren't left in debt up to their eyeballs by a man they thought they knew and trusted."
He didn't miss the underlying bite to her tone, which did nothing to deter him. "Your husband?"
"Yes." She shook her head and blew an upward stream of breath that ruffled her bangs across her brow. "I can't believe we're having this conversation."
Neither could he, since he wasn't one to indulge in cozy, intimate chitchat and personal revelations after sex. But now that it was out in the open, he was intent on discovering the real story behind that ring encircling her finger, and a past that had obviously kept her celibate for an amazingly long time.
Slipping his leg beneath the covers, he found her calf and casually caressed her smooth skin with his toes. "What happened?"
She rolled to her side, facing him less than a foot away, and exhaled a slow, unraveling breath. "I was naive and fell for a reckless, untamable charmer who knew how to say all the right things to sweep a woman off her feet, and he did exactly that."
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear that had fallen across her cheek, accepting the excuse to touch her for what it was. "You certainly don't strike me as naive." Not when it came to life or men.
"Okay, then I was a blind fool." Self-recriminations laced her voice. "Travis's impulsive, frivolous ways were so invigorating compared to my sensible, practical life, and he gave me something to look forward to at the end of all the hours I was working at the cafe. He was daring and adventurous, and that made me feel a sense of freedom that was new and exciting and addicting. So when he asked me to marry him after three months of dating, I said yes and we did the deed in a quickie civil ceremony that my aunt and uncle found out about after the fact." A noticeable wince creased her features.
He resisted the urge to smooth out those disturbing wrinkles with his thumb, a comforting gesture that took him off guard. "I take it they weren't happy about not being invited to the wedding?"
"They weren't happy about the marriage, period. Or Travis as a husband. They'd never really liked him." She yawned as the late hour, her long day, and physical exhaustion began taking its toll. "I had a huge argument with my aunt and uncle, my first ever yelling, screaming match with them, as I defended Travis and my right to marry who I wanted."
Her voice dropped in volume, the regret she harbored unmistakable. "In hindsight, they had good reason not to trust my judgement when it came to Travis, because they saw deeper than just the surface of a good-looking face and flirtatious smile. They saw his charming personality for what it was-a way to get what he wanted."
"And he wanted you?"
She nodded. "It seemed so, maybe because I was so eager to please, and yes, even naive when it came to men who were so good at deceiving women. He definitely conned me."
"How?" Another nudge to get her to spill more.
"Within the first six months of our marriage, after the honeymoon stage wore off, I started to see a different side to him, too. A selfish, self-centered, arrogant side he didn't bother to hide. During our two-year marriage, he couldn't hold down a job. I pretty much supported both of us while trying to get The Daily Grind to the point where it was solvent and making a profit. I'd started the business with a loan from my aunt and uncle, and a small-business loan from the bank, so there was a good chunk of money going out in repayment. And since I spent a lot of time at the cafe-over twelve hours a day-it gave Travis a whole lot of time to play."